Shiradi Ghat may be thrown open to traffic by June 15.

Nearly three years after the first 13-km stretch of Shiradi Ghat between Maranahalli and Kempu Hole Guest House was concreted in August 2015, the second 13-km stretch between Kempu Hole Guest House and Adda Hole near Gundya is likely to be thrown open by June 15.

Work under Package 2 of Shiradi Ghat reconstruction started on January 20 after the stretch was closed for traffic.

With the reconstruction, National Highway 75 in the entire Shiradi Ghat stretch, including the one between Gundya and Adda Hole, would have a uniform width of 8.5 metres and thickness of 45 cm. The road width varied between 6 m and 7 m earlier.

A senior official of the National Highways division of the Public Works Department (PWD) told The Hindu that laying of concrete is expected to be completed by this month-end, if it did not rain heavily. During the next fortnight, the contractor would undertake ancillary works to give the finishing touch to the road while the concrete gets cured, he said.

Challenging task

Though Ocean Constructions worked on tough terrain while executing Package 1 of the project, the present one was tougher, said company director Sharfuddin Ali.

Mr. Ali said that they had a wide working area on the upper portion of the ghat while the work area was narrow in the lower portion due to geographical constraints. Yet, the contractor is likely to complete the work in six months as against seven months taken for Package 1. Earlier experience and deploying state-of-the-art equipment helped the contractor to hasten the work, Mr. Ali said.

He said that the contractor had to build one new bridge and widen three existing ones that were not part of the original contract. Despite this, the work has happened quickly, Mr. Ali added.

The contractor had to use geotextile as the primary base for the entire stretch to prevent oozing of water which otherwise would have damaged the road surface.

Faster travel

After Shiradi Ghat is thrown open to traffic, one can expect hassle-free travel on the stretch.

Some statistics of Package 2

Materials used for concrete road:

Geo Textile: 1,53,808 square metres

Granular sub-base: 29,798 cubic metres

Cement: 19,702 tonnes

Crushed stone (Jelly): 53,520 cubic metres (85,739 tonnes)

Sand: 26,757 cubic metres (40,916 tonnes)

Emulsion: 122 tonnes

Steel: 317 tonnes

Work progress:

Granule sub-base: Completed (balance 3 gaps)

Dry Lean Concrete: Completed (balance 3 gaps)

Pavement Quality Concrete: Balance 300 m (left-hand side) and 1.5 km (right-hand side)

*Source: M/s Ocean Constructions.

THE HINDU